Now For Something A Little Bit More Realistic

This is an amazing speech that was given by Dominique at the recent rally in downtown Salt Lake City.

©Dominique Storni dominiquestorni@hotmail.com
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Mitakuye Oyasin. All my relations. I come here today in a good way. I pray you hear the words of my
mouth, the words of my heart, and the words of my soul.
Gerald Massey said, “They must find it difficult...those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than
truth as the authority."
Today, I bring you truth; not only my truth, but the truth of scholars who have searched with real intent. I
pray; hear the words that I say today.
Once upon a time, on a bright, sunny day, there was a tiny chicken named Chicken-Little. One day Chicken
Little was scratching in the garden when an acorn from the big oak tree fell down and hit Chicken-Little
right on top of her head. Kerrrrrrr flop!
"Oh," cried Chicken Little, "the sky is falling. I must go tell the king. (And the prophet)"
So Chicken Little ran and ran, and she met Henny Penny.
"Where do you travel so fast, Chicken Little?" asked Henny Penny.
"Ah, Henny Penny," said Chicken Little, "the sky is falling, and I must go and tell the king."
“And the prophet?” asked Henny Penny. "How do you know that the sky is falling, Chicken Little?" asked
Henny Penny.
"I saw it with my eyes, I heard it with my ears, and a bit of it fell on my head," said Chicken Little.
Well, in the end, the fox confounds everyone and eats them up.
Depending on the version of Chicken-Little you read, the moral changes. In the "happy ending" version, the
moral is not to be a "Chicken", but to have courage. In other versions the moral is usually interpreted to
mean "do not believe everything you are told".
In the latter case, it could well be a cautionary political tale: The Chicken jumps to a conclusion and whips
the populace into mass hysteria, which the unscrupulous fox uses to manipulate them for his own selfish
benefit.
The fight to block marriage for gays is very much like the story of Chicken-Little. Too many religions in
America and around the world have declared that marriage for gays will destroy traditional marriage. “The
sky is falling,” they cry.
But the sky hasn’t fallen.
It is time for us not to be chicken. It is time for them to NOT believe everything they’ve been told. It is time
for them to stop whipping up - an apocalyptic frenzy. It is time for us to be courageous as we right - a
constitutional wrong.
I’d like to give you an historical perspective. The Territory of Deseret, now known as Utah, first petitioned
for statehood in 1849. Utah was not accepted into the United States until 1896, nearly a half century later.
The main reason? Polygamy.
©Dominique Storni dominiquestorni@hotmail.com
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Conservative religious citizens of the USA, citing Bible scriptures, many taken out of context, said that
polygamy would destroy traditional marriage. Even though many Old Testament prophets practiced
polygamy; laws, such as the Edmunds Act, were passed that labeled polygamists as felons… and striped
them of their rights to vote, serve on a jury, or hold political office.
Utah eventually gain statehood. Polygamy is still being practiced. And the sky still didn’t fall, Chicken-
Little.
Up until the 1960’s, marrying someone of a different race was illegal. In fact, during slavery, slaves were
property and were not allowed to legally marry anyone, even if they were of the same race. Religious
conservatives cited Bible scriptures, again taken out of context, to demonize mixed race marriages. They
said that allowing interracial marriage would destroy traditional marriage.
In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia, that banning mixed race marriages was
unconstitutional.
Marriage among mixed races has increased every year since. The sky has not fallen, Chicken-Little.
Now, the same arguments are being made by the religious right wing. They use fear tactics, quote scripture
out of context, bear false witness against the GLBT community, and produce commercials full of lies.
Based upon the last time I read Exodus; that makes at least 2 of the 10 commandments they’ve broken as
they have declared war, in which they claim moral superiority.
My message to the religious leaders of the world today is, you cannot break the Ten Commandments and
claim high moral ground. You cannot use immoral means to justify the ends of your “Moral Values” war.
We seek not war, but peace. We are not asking you to change who you love. We ask sincerely, with real
intent, the right to love and marry a spouse of OUR choice.
From my studies in political science, we learned the difference between a Democracy and a Republic.
Majority may rule in a simple Democracy, but in a Republic, the majority is forbidden to force its will upon
the minority.
While Jeff is holding the flag, will you all please join me? “I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the United
States of America. And to the REPUBLIC for which it stands. One nation, Under God, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all.”
In our Republic, there is a balance of power between the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches of
government.”
We have heard too many times that marriage is being redefined by “Activist Judges”. The fact of the matter
is, marriage has been redefined throughout history. Traditional marriage has been used to unite two warring
countries, two feuding families, to guarantee inheritance, and to subjugate women. Some anthropology
tomes report the first marriage contract was between two men. Traditional marriage had less to do about
sex and procreation, and more to do with political affairs and inheritance rights.
Another fact we cannot ignore is that in our Republic, the Judicial branch has the constitutional duty to
make sure the majority is not taking an unfair advantage over any minority by writing repressive laws that
take away inalienable rights… especially life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
As a point of interest, it should be noted that 7 out of 9 of the so-called “activist judges” in California, who
declared Prop 22 unconstitutional and legalized marriage for gays, were appointed by Republican
governors. NOW you complain when judges you suppose are on your side rule against you? These judges
set aside partisan politics and did their duty to the Constitution. They protected the rights of the minority.
©Dominique Storni dominiquestorni@hotmail.com
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We have been scolded for singling out the Mormon Church. It is quite to the contrary, my dear brothers and
sisters. We are the playground sissies that have been singled out and beaten up by the biggest bully in
school. We’re finally so tired of being beaten up, that we’ve finally found the courage, or desperation, to
stand up for ourselves and demand equal civil rights.
I am thankful for my Mormon brothers and sisters. I am thankful they have awakened a sleeping giant.
Finally, we have a movement equal to the civil rights battles of the 60’s and 70’s. The youth have joined us
in unprecedented numbers. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people are finally coming together.
By our side are numerous straight allies and numerous Mormon allies who recognize that discrimination
against one is discrimination against all.
· In 1989 Denmark became the first country to legalize marriage for gays. Greenland joined them in
1996. The sky did not fall, Chicken-Little.
· In 1993 Norway legalized same sex marriage. Sweden and Denmark followed with similar laws. The
sky did not fall, Chicken-Little.
· In March 2001, Portugal allowed common law marriage for gay couples living together 2 years or
more. And on April 1st, 2001, marriage for gays was officially legal in the Netherlands. The sky did
not fall Chicken-Little
· November 18, 2003, marriage for gays became legal in Massachusetts.
· On June 30, 2005, Spain legalized marriage for gays. The sky did not fall, Chicken-Little.
· July 19, 2005, marriage for gays was officially legalized in Canada.
· December 1st, 2006, South Africa legalized marriage for gays. The sky did not fall, Chicken-Little.
· On May 15, 2008, marriage for gays became legal in California. Since that day, 18,000 couples were
legally married in the state of California. The sky did not fall, Chicken-Little.
M.V. Lee Badgett, cited at Slate.com reports that in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland heterosexual
marriages are on the increase since marriage for gays was legalized. In Denmark heterosexual marriage is
currently at the highest rates since the 1970’s. Divorce rates are unchanged.
Matthew 22:35-40 tells a story of lawyers trying to deceive Jesus:
Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him, and saying,
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Jesus said unto him, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is
like unto it, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang
all the law and the prophets.
Those two great commandments did not come with a list of conditions or exclusions. I reach out with a
good heart and with good hands across the aisle. I love all of you, on both sides of this issue. I recognize
and honor the divine in each of you and the right to love whom you will love.
It is in the divine that I bear you my testimony that I know if we will but love each other as Jesus loved, and
love one another as Jesus commanded us to do; we can get through this challenge and live together in
harmony. No Chicken-Little, the sky has not fallen. And I testify that the sky will NOT FALL when
marriage for gays is finally legal in the United States of America. Aho Mitakuye Oyasin